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MSU Moorhead student creates indie music website

Michael Schreifels, a senior majoring in film studies at Minnesota State University Moorhead, is a dedicated student to say the least. Schreifels will complete his four-year degree in three, has contributed work to film festivals, is a Resident Assistant, and works in the MSUM IT department.

A long-time entrepreneur, Schreifels recently finished building a website called Albumcorner. The website, which launched April 18, is an independent music discovery service. With the help of a close network of friends, Schreifels created Albumcorner to help new, independent musicians build their fan-base and get their music heard.

Every Wednesday, Albumcorner will feature the work of a new band. Visitors can listen to the full album for free and buy it at a discounted price for that week.

“Albumcorner is about creating a platform for independent musicians to reach a broader audience. That is really hard to do with a marketplace as saturated as the one we have,” Schreifels said. “I think there are a lot of fans who are really excited about great new music, but it’s hard to find, not because it doesn’t exist, but because there is so much out there.”

“You can search for indie music on iTunes or Bandcamp, and you’ll get hundreds of thousands of results. How do you separate the great music from the mediocre? That’s the goal of Albumcorner—to provide that curatorial process,” Schreifels said.

Schreifels has always been interested in music, film and web development. He made his first website in fourth grade and continued to develop his technical skills throughout middle school, high school and college.

At MSUM, he began creating music videos to fulfill his passion for film and music, which led to his involvement in the local music scene. Schreifels met Fargo musician Michael Weiler through working with Weiler’s band, Shape Then Shift.

Weiler’s music connections in Fargo and Minneapolis have helped Schreifels meet new artists to feature on Albumcorner.

“Once you connect with a really talented artist in a given area, you have suddenly become connected to an entire network of great music. It just grows organically,” Schreifels said. “For example, I’m working with some artists in Sweden, Philadelphia, L.A., and Seattle. Now they are starting to put me in touch with other great musicians.”

Schreifels is graduating in May, and hopes to work full-time on Albumcorner.